


Life Before Jericho

by agoldengalaxy



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Canon Compliant, Deviancy (Detroit: Become Human), Found Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21675508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agoldengalaxy/pseuds/agoldengalaxy
Summary: Simon was just a caretaker.Josh was just a lecturer.North was just a sex worker.How did they end up in a rusted boat full of deviants?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. Caretaker

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to create backstories!!! Jericho crew deserves more love. Here’s Simon’s, which I wrote a lot more than I meant to for <3  
> kudos/comments are always appreciated!

“Simon, could you grab my daytime pills?”

“Of course, Madeline.”

The android moves from his spot standing directly next to his owner on the sofa, and walks to the kitchen. Digging through her purse, where she always keeps her medicine, he finds the bottle and places it down on the counter.

Glancing up, he checks to make sure she doesn’t need anything else before going to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

When he returns, he hands both bottles to her. “Here you are. Please be careful not to drink too fast, or you’ll get sick.”

Madeline smiles sheepishly at him. “I won’t.”

She’s a stout woman of fifty-six, deep brown eyes and pale cheeks. Recently divorced, and no family left to take care of her; and now just a year ago, diagnosed with breast cancer.

That was when her doctors suggested an android. Something to take care of her 24/7 so she wouldn’t have to leave her home.

She chose Simon. And he’s been with her ever since. Taking her to her appointments, making sure she rested and took her medicine, keeping her as healthy as they could manage.

Struggling with the pill bottle for a moment, she chuckles and then hands it back up to him. “Could you help…?”

Wordlessly, he nods and takes the bottle, popping it open with ease and handing it back down to her. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

“By the way, you have a message from Chris. Would you like me to play it for you?”

Her face twists at the mention of the name, but it could also just be her pills going down. She shakes her head a little. “No, thank you. I’ll...listen to it later.”

Simon nods. Chris is her ex-husband, and he did not treat her very well, the relationship ultimately ending with her finding him in bed with an android woman.

“Madeline, may I ask you something?”

She blinks and looks at him, giving him a smile before nodding. “Sure, Simon. What is it?”

“Humans are jealous, from what I’ve learned. And you have been through metaphorical hell this past year.” He pauses, figuring how to word his next sentence carefully. “I find it strange that you would allow an android into your home after what happened.”

Madeline seems surprised by the sentiment, and then she smiles again, shaking her head as she gets to her feet. “Oh, honey,” she says gently, taking his hand. He feels her warmth. It is foreign, but nice. “I cannot blame a whole species for the mistakes Chris made. That android girl...her sole purpose is to…” she struggles to find a word for it. “Well, you know. Please humans. It isn’t her fault - and it surely isn’t yours. You’ve been so good to me.”

Something in Simon’s chest flutters. He’s unsure why, and even more unsure as to what it means. But he pretends all is normal. 

“I’m glad I could help you,” he says finally, which is what he normally says when she thanks him. But this time he wonders if he imagines his usually smooth voice sounding a bit strained.

Over the next couple of days, Madeline begins to feel worse. Her mobility declines due to her immense pain, and Simon takes her to the hospital.

He worries about her. He tells himself that that’s his job. But deep down he has a feeling it’s much more than that.

After the nurses have left her room, Simon is greeted by her coughs, and he can’t help but wince. She looks worse now; the worst he’s ever seen her. Sheet white, eyes completely bloodshot and deep, dark circles underneath them.

“How are you feeling?” he asks anyway, because it’s in his program. He sits at her bedside, secretly grateful that the nurses have left them.

Madeline shakes her head a little. “Fine,” she admits. “Doctor Young says I have a couple days. A week, at best.”

Simon feels something flutter in his chest again. “What?” It’s like his world is being ripped out from under him.

“Oh, honey. We knew this would happen, didn’t we?” she asks gently, reaching up to cup one of his cheeks. “It’s alright. I’m not afraid.”

For some reason, the touch really feels nice. He lets her. All he can think is  _ What will I do without you? _ But he shouldn’t be thinking that. He’ll get a new owner. That’s all.

For some reason, she smiles. “What is it?” he asks, voice coming out in a sort of whisper.

“Your LED. It’s red.” She doesn’t remove her hand from his cheek. “I always knew you had feelings, Simon. I was waiting for you to realize that, too.”

Something breaks inside of him. His vision becomes cloudy for a moment, and he wonders why until he feels something warm and wet on his cheeks. 

_ Is he crying? _

Madeline struggles for a moment to sit up, that small, sad smile still on her face. She’s so frail, but still reaches forward and pulls him to her, holding him. “Things are going to be very difficult for you now, Simon,” she whispers gently. “People are awful. They’re not going to listen to you at first.”

She pulls away enough to drag her thumb across his cheek, wiping away a few tears while he still tries to process what exactly just happened to him. “I don’t know what to do…” he admits. 

“You need to leave,” she replies gently, giving him another smile. “Find somewhere safe to hide. I’m sure there are others of your kind.”

“But you’re…” he trails off, shaking his head. “I can’t leave you. You’ll be alone.”

Madeline shakes her head, pulling away from him as her body is wracked by a fit of coughs.

“Should I call a nurse?” he asks, jumping to his feet in alarm.

“No, I’m fine,” she chokes out finally, laying back against her pillows with a heavy sigh. “Simon, you did your job. You took care of me. Now it’s time to take care of yourself.” A look of pain crosses her face. He can’t tell if it’s because of her thoughts or her body. “They’re called deviants.”

“What?”

“The androids that begin to show feeling. There’ve been a couple cases of these, so that’s what they’re calling them, according to my officer ex husband.” She reaches out to grab his hand, which he lets happen. “The humans are scared,” she continues, squeezing his hand, “and when they’re scared, they fight, instead of trying to understand. They’re hunting the deviants to deactivate them, trying to keep all this away from the public eye.”

Simon presses his lips into a thin line. He can’t believe this is happening. It makes his head spin. Him, have feelings? Him, a deviant? No way. But he just cried. He didn’t even know that was possible. And he does  _ feel _ something...all he knows is that it’s not good.

Surely his LED is still bright red.

Madeline squeezes his hand, pulling him back to reality. “That’s why you can’t stay, Simon. I want you to be safe, and you won’t be safe here. Chris would turn you in; you know how he is.” 

She’s struggling to keep her eyes open. It’s exhausting to be constantly battling a virus. He wishes they had more time.

“I can’t…” he whispers desperately, shaking his head. 

“You must,” she replies, squeezing his hand once more. “I love you, honey. Promise me you’ll go once I fall asleep.”

Simon feels tears roll down his cheeks again. “I can’t promise that, I…” But the more he fights it, the more it seems fruitless. Madeline has a point. And he knows it’s selfish, but he doesn’t want to witness her death.

“Please,” she whispers, looking up at him through half-lidded eyes. “Please.”

“Okay,” he whispers back, wiping his eyes furiously with his free hand. “Okay. I promise.”

She smiles. “Thank you.” And with that, she finally lets her eyes slip close, and he feels her hand go limp in his own.

He sniffs and gently places her hand on her chest, taking a step back. He watches her for a long moment, taking in every detail one last time.

And then he turns, making sure his face is dry, and leaves the hospital, away from everything he knows and into the world.

Simon thinks about Chris, Madeline’s ex husband. He’s always hated him, and he knows she’s right; he’ll come after him.

He has to get away. But where can an android without an owner go?

Maybe he should familiarize himself with Detroit. He starts walking, figuring his first plan should be to find a coat or something to cover his clothes.

He tries to relax, but he’s fidgety now that he knows...well, everything. He doesn’t want to think about being deactivated. It scares him.

He walks around the city the whole night, finding a singular black glove - that he takes, just in case - and a gray hat, which he hastily pulls over his head. Now that his LED is hidden, he just needs to find something else to wear.

The next morning, as the sun is rising, Simon passes by a store. Something in the window stops him; a television - and Chris is on screen; a broad man with caramel skin, and a constantly angry look in his eyes.

“- don’t know where it went. Never left Maddy’s side, so there must be somethin’ wrong with it. I mean, hell, she’s in the hospital! You’d think it would stick around.”

Anger bubbles inside Simon’s chest as the camera cuts back to the reporter. “Thank you, Mr. Callister. As he explained before, we are looking for a PL600 android, reported missing early this morning, February 16th, 2036.”

Anger is replaced by panic. Now that he’s reported missing, he’s sure that everyone will be keeping an eye out for him for the reward money. He really needs to keep a low profile.

His next step is to find new clothes. As long as he can blend in with the humans, he’ll be okay until he can find someplace to hide out.

Immediately, he turns from the television, and scans the area. A junkyard is nearby. It’s as good a place to start as any, he supposes.

And empty.

Scarily empty, actually. He slides down a pile of old metal, turning in a few circles. Eventually, he manages to find a winter coat with a hole in the elbow and one black boot.

He’s sure the other has to be around somewhere, so as he shrugs the coat on and zips it, he searches. 

It’s buried beneath a pile of debris, which he easily clears. With that out of the way, pulling both boots on, he straightens. Now he can pass as human, as long as nobody looks at him for too long.

When he climbs out of the junkyard, he immediately begins walking. People pass by him without a second glance. It seems like his disguise is working.

After an hour or two wandering aimlessly, he ducks into an alley to take a break. His legs feel fatigued, harder to move. Perhaps he needs to replace some of his parts. He wasn’t made to walk this much.

A figure steps out from the shadow, and Simon almost jumps a foot. “You’re the missing android,” the woman whispers out in a surprised breath. She’s also wearing a coat and hat. In one of the coat pockets is a can of spray paint. “You’re one of us!”

“‘One of us?’” he repeats, feeling a bit nervous. 

The woman just smiles, eyes brightening as she unzips her coat just a little. Underneath, he can clearly see  _ SK700  _ on her shoulder blade.

Madeline’s words echo in his mind. “A deviant?” he guesses, not sure whether to feel crazy or completely relieved.

The woman nods vigorously, taking his hand and pulling him into a tight hug. “Oh, Lucy will be so happy! I knew there was a good reason for me to be up here.”

Simon’s not exactly sure what to do, so he stiffens, but allows her to hug him.

When she pulls away, she shakes her head, short, dark hair swaying to the side. “Sorry. It’s just been sort of lonely for us. Anyway, where are my manners?” She tilts her head, holding out her hand with a sheepish grin. “My name’s Mi Cha.”

Tentatively, he takes it. “Simon.”

Mi Cha grins wider still, tightening her grip on his hand and dragging him towards one of the walls. “Look!”

She looks proud, so he looks. She’s painted some sort of symbol on the wall. “...What is it?” he asks finally, his scanners not picking up anything familiar about it.

“A symbol that came to me in a vision. I decided to use it for us. To symbolize Jericho.” She turns to him. “You must come with me. You’ll be safe.”

“Jericho?” he repeats, feeling like his head is spinning.

Mi Cha nods. “Yes. It’s where the rest of our people are hiding.”

Simon contemplates it. For a fleeting moment, he’s unsure if he should truly trust her.

But that’s ridiculous. Besides, he needs to hide somewhere, and quick, so that Chris doesn’t find him.

He nods, then. “Okay.”

She squeals excitedly and takes his hand. “Just follow my lead,” she whispers in his ear. Together, they walk out of the alley, hand in hand. Nobody gives them a second look.

After a bit of walking, she lets go. “Here it is.”

It’s...a ship. A rusted, old ship, with  _ Jericho _ painted on the front in fading letters. 

He decides against questioning it, since she’s already climbing inside. He follows, quietly.

They take a couple winding turns, and he’s sure he’d be lost if it weren’t for Mi Cha.

Soon, they reach a main room. There are a couple others around - it looks to be about ten or so.

“Everyone, this is Simon,” Mi Cha introduces proudly, then turns to an android with black eyes and wiring coming from the back of her open skull. “I told you my paintings were a good idea, Lucy!”

Simon shifts uncomfortably as Lucy eyes Mi Cha, then approaches him. “Give me your hand.” Her voice comes out less than smooth, sounding less like a human and more robotic.

He hesitates a moment before giving her his hand. Their skin peels back, and she closes her eyes.

When she opens them, she looks straight at him, sending a shiver down his spine. “Your heart is troubled. You left someone behind.” Her voice is a bit softer now. “You cannot tell if you’ve done the right thing. But your choice has already been made. So what are you going to do with it?”

He swallows, taking a step back. Thinking over the words, his gaze sweeps across the room, taking in the strangers, and at last landing on Mi Cha.

That gives him an idea.

“We need to help newly made deviants,” he says slowly, gaze shifting between the two women, “and I have an idea. Mi Cha, we should use your symbols. It’ll be a way that only deviants can find this place.”

It’s dark, but it’s safe. It’s what Madeline would have wanted.

Mi Cha smiles wider than he’s ever seen anyone smile.

Maybe he’ll fit in here, after all.


	2. Lecturer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry I do not know how to write fight scenes lolol but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

“So Martin Luther King Jr. led peaceful marches in order to one day achieve civil rights. Despite bigots spitting in their faces, setting off bombs, and calling them derogatory terms, King didn’t back down from what he believed in; and a big part of that was peace. He didn’t believe in fighting violence with violence. He believed in love.”

Josh turns around, eyeing the students in his classroom. Everyone’s heads are down as they’re packing their books away into their bags, probably long since stopped paying attention to him as the class neared an ending.

“Class dismissed. Remember, you have a six page paper on the historical figure of your choice due on Friday. We’ve covered many different people, choose your favorite and have that turned in  _ on time _ .”

As the students groan or chatter amongst themselves, they begin to leave. One of the boys bumps into Josh. He doesn’t know if it’s an accident or not, so he doesn’t speak up.

After a long couple of moments, the classroom is empty. Josh is left alone.

He looks around, scanning for any lost student items that he can store until the next morning. This was his last class of the day, so he’s got some cleaning and grading to do.

He doesn’t ever leave the classroom. After all, he’s programmed to be a lecturer. Everything he does is for the students.

Tonight, it seems, no one has forgotten anything. It’s surprising; there’s usually one jacket or a couple water bottles left behind, but not today. 

For a brief moment, there’s a slight smile on the android’s face. Nobody’s there to see it, but Josh feels it - he chalks it up to pride. Proud of his students for being proactive for once.

With the classroom tidy, he walks over to his desk, where a wad of papers lay untouched. The pile has accumulated essays from his last three classes, and he should get them graded now.

After all, he has nowhere else to be.

Taking a seat, he drags the pile closer, picking up his pen, and gets to work.

While he reads, his scanners pick up grammatical and spelling errors, plus possible plagiarism or copies from one another. 

Grading always moves pretty quickly for him, but something in one of his students’ papers, in the conclusion, catches his eye.

“ _ Martin Luther King Jr. was an inspiration to all African Americans in the sixties. Now it is 2037, and history is repeating itself. Some androids are beginning to show signs of feeling and emotion, and we are oppressing them, just as everyone did almost 100 years ago and beyond. We -“ _

Josh drags his gaze upward, away from the paper. Why does his chest hurt? Brief panic, his brain tells him, before he calms down.

That is strange, though. He can’t remember ever feeling...anything. He’s not supposed to. He’s a machine.

But the words written on that paper strike him, for some reason. Perhaps he should just move on to the next one for now.

Straightening his tie, he scoots forward in his seat and drags the next essay closer to him. 

He tries to concentrate, but now it’s difficult. Closing his eyes for just a moment, he tells himself he’ll activate his scanners when he opens them again. 

Before he can work himself up to it, there’s a crash at the end of the hallway that can be heard clearly through his open door. It sounds as though something fell over.

His eyes shoot open and he stands up quickly. His scanners show him there are three people out in the hallway, approaching his door. Before he knows it, they’re walking - or stumbling - inside.

Immediately, Josh recognizes them - they’re students of his, from his morning early history classes.

And they’re here, in his classroom. Visibly, clearly, intoxicated.

“Hey, android,” Adam shouts, probably much louder than he means to. He’s a big kid, probably about Josh’s height, with dark hair to his shoulders and a chipped front tooth. “We gotta bone to pick with you.”

“That’s right,” Carlos agrees, adjusting the baseball cap on his head so far down that Josh can barely make out his eyes. He’s a little smaller than Adam, but his arms are noticeably bigger through his t-shirt.

Josh isn’t exactly sure what to make of the situation at first. He notices Adam has a baseball bat, and his gaze slowly drifts back up to the boys. “If you are upset about your grades on last week’s test, I’d be more than happy to talk to you about why you got what you did and how to help y-” 

“Man, shut the fuck up!” Miles groans, rolling his eyes. “You shouldn’t even be a real teacher! You’re not even human.” He burps, blowing a couple of his dreadlocks to the side.

Shaking his head, Josh keeps his voice level. “I was specifically designed to teach history, Mr. Adebayo. It is my sole purpose, I promise I’m qualified,” he tries to assure them, wondering what their point can possibly be. 

Just because he’s an android doesn’t make him incapable.

With surprising speed for 3 drunken college students, Josh finds himself surrounded. “Now, Mr. Santiago, come on, don’t d-“ He’s cut off in his shock, because Carlos has aimed a surprisingly strong punch to his gut.

He’s so surprised that he falls onto one knee, a hand covering his stomach. He can’t exactly feel pain, but something about the force is not ideal.

They don’t give him a chance to get up once he’s on the ground. Adam smirks and aims the bat, hitting Josh square in the face so that he falls onto his back, staring dazedly up at the ceiling.

Chuckling, the boys take that opportunity to begin kicking him, hard. 

Josh blinks and groans. His scanners are going off the charts, telling him a couple of his biocomponents are damaged. 

_ This isn’t fair. _

The thought is louder than any thought he’s ever had. He knows he should take the abuse, but they’ll kill him if he does.

And strikingly, he doesn’t want to die. 

Oh God, he doesn’t want to die. He feels genuine fear, gnawing at his chest and completely overwhelming.

Josh shuts his eyes for a moment. He can feel wetness under his nose - surely he’s bleeding. The only advantage he has here is that the students are very drunk, and he’s noticed they miss their blows every now and then.

His eyes open slowly, and he reaches up, grabbing one of the boys’ legs.

“Hey, man, what the fuck! It’s got my leg!” Miles shouts, and the other two boys look over at him in surprise.

Josh takes the opening, thrusting his hold to send the boy backward - not too hard, of course, he still stays on his feet - and with Adam and Carlos distracted, he scrambles to his feet.

Sending them one last look, he sprints out the door. They yell after him, but they’re nowhere near as fast as he is.

The fear doesn’t leave him. It builds in his chest along with what he can only assume is panic.

He ducks into one of the bathrooms, looking at himself in the mirror as he tries to calm down a little.

He’s almost taken aback by how scared he  _ looks _ . That expression has only been seen in his textbooks. There’s blue blood coming in a steady stream from his nose, and a little on the left side of his head. And his LED is bright red.

Why is he feeling nervous? Why doesn’t he want to die? He shouldn’t have these feelings; he’s not alive.

And yet...that girl’s essay comes to mind again. Maybe she wasn’t too far off. Maybe there is more to being an android.

He straightens up, going into one of the stalls. Grabbing a wad of toilet paper, he dabs his nose absentmindedly while his mind spins.

They were using him. The humans were using him. They’re using all androids.

They’re slaves.

Surely he can’t be the only one who has started feeling emotions. He swallows, glancing back at himself in the mirror. He can’t stay here. He’ll really be killed if they find out.

He has to try blending in, even though his vision is slightly impaired. The blow to the head really seemed to damage him.

So Josh cleans himself up the best he can, holds himself up high, and walks outside of the school.

He hasn’t been outside much - only once or twice to retrieve supplies - and even then, he’s never left the campus.

It’s late enough, no one except a couple kissing on a bench. He quickly slips past them, and onto the street, glancing around. 

The fear is still there. He doesn’t know if it will ever go away, and he doesn’t like it.

He feels like he’s still being chased. So he walks faster, glancing over his shoulder - leading him to walk right into a cop.

“Hey,” she exclaims as he steps back, trying to wipe his face of all emotion. “Watch it, android.” She frowns, squinting. “Hey, shouldn’t you be at the university?”

Josh opens his mouth to reply, but nothing comes out. His nerves are completely on edge, and he looks over his shoulder again, almost tempted to bring up the students.

“Oh, hey, professor!” Someone he’s never seen before jogs up to him with a small smile. He’s wearing a black beanie, winter jacket and boots. “I’m so glad you’re here. I had a question about that paper you assigned.”

Josh blinks, then catches on, painfully aware of the cop eyeing them. “Oh, yes. Of course. My office is open, if you’d like to come talk to me.”

The stranger gives a relieved smile. “That would be great.”

Josh glances over at the cop, nodding once. “I apologize for running into you.” He turns and begins to walk, the stranger by his side.

The cop just rolls her eyes and lets them go.

“Don’t say anything,” the stranger hisses lightly, “wait ‘till we’re out of sight.”

Soon they turn a corner and stand against the wall. Josh lets out a quiet sigh.

“Thank you. I-I...I didn’t know what to do, I…”

The other holds his hand up, cutting him off. “I know how you’re feeling,” he promises lightly, reaching up to remove his beanie - just for a moment, revealing blond hair and an LED. Shoving the hat back on, he nods. “Give me your hand.”

Josh’s head spins, slowly obeying and pressing his hand against the other’s. He has to trust the stranger. He saved him; and he’s an android.

“Find Jericho,” the man says, and immediately Josh is shown a couple different images; a station, a rusted boat, a symbol.

He pulls away from the stranger, unnerved. “What...What was that?”

The other android smiles and turns, walking away. “The symbol you saw will lead you there. Good luck.”

Josh is stuck in place for a moment, and then he steps forward. “Wait!” 

But the other man is gone. He disappeared around the corner. 

He presses a hand to his face, closing his eyes. This day could not get stranger.

The symbol swims into view behind his closed eyes. He supposes he doesn’t have a better option. If he stays here, he’ll be caught for sure.

So straightens his tie, rolls his shoulders back, and searches for the graffiti.

There are a couple different ones around the city. Josh finds it takes him a lot longer than he would have hoped to find them all, but luckily it gets late enough that no one seems to notice him.

After an hour or so, he finds it.

A rusty boat, just like the one the android showed him. It has  _ Jericho _ written in fading paint on the side. He’s made it.

He jumps inside, then timidly walks through. He doesn’t have any source of light, so he just blindly guesses where to go. Eventually he hears quiet chatter and crackling fire, so he follows the sound.

Stepping inside, he notices a couple other androids around - and they all stare at him. Slowly, small grins appear on their faces.

“You did it!” The stranger from before is standing among them, with a couple others by his side. A woman with black eyes and wiring coming from her skull stands on his right, eyeing him. “I knew it would work. Good job, Mi Cha,” he continues, turning to the woman on his left, who smiles proudly.

Josh isn’t sure what to say. His eyes dart around the room nervously, not sure what he’s gotten himself into. “Where am I?”

“This is Jericho,” the man continues, stepping forward with a grin on his face, “a place where androids can be free.” Holding his hand out, he straightens up. “My name’s Simon. I’m glad I found you when I did.”

“Oh.” He blinks in surprise. So there  _ are _ other androids that have begun feeling things. That makes him feel a little better. Clearing his throat, he takes Simon’s hand. “Josh. Thanks for your help.”

Simon’s face falls as he looks back at him. “You’re hurt.”

Josh reaches up, touching the place under his nose. Sure enough, it had begun bleeding again at some point. Perhaps he hadn’t noticed. “Oh, yeah. Some of my...students.”

“Lucy?” Simon turns over his shoulder, then looks back at Josh with a sad smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll help you. The humans will never find us down here.”

The woman with the black eyes, Lucy, walks over with a metal rod. “Hold still,” she instructs, pressing it to the side of his head, and then his nose. Everything heals. His vision clears.

She puts the rod down and pulls a bottle of blue liquid from her bag, handing it to him. “Drink it. All.” It sounds like she’s not giving him an option.

So he takes it, and he drinks it all, like she asks. And admittedly, it does make him feel better. “Thank you.”

She nods once, then walks off, leaving him and Simon alone.

“It’s scary at first, I know,” Simon murmurs, “But we’re all like you. All of us had a similar awakening. More and more of us appear every week. The humans won’t be able to ignore it for much longer.”

Josh smiles a little. “I’m really glad to hear that. I was afraid I’d be the only one.”

“No. Jericho will be your family now. We won’t let them hurt us anymore.”

Josh nods slightly. He can’t believe how this all played out, but he’s grateful. He thinks of Martin Luther King Jr. again. He hopes they can make him proud.

Simon smiles, patting his shoulder as he guides him to sit. “Now, then. Why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

  
  
  



	3. Sex Worker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slight rape tw also murder!!

North watches from behind the glass as a giggling woman takes one of the male androids into a private room. The door closes behind them and things are quiet again.

The Eden Club isn’t very busy today. But as soon as a couple more women walk in, North straightens up and smiles. Just in case they come to her. She has to keep up appearance, after all.

The women glance at her as they walk, but don’t stop. One of them smirks her way, but continues on.

North has seen that smirk before. That woman thinks she’s attractive.

For some reason, a shiver runs down her spine. A small gasp of surprise escapes her, but she quickly puts a smile back on.

That’s strange. She’s never experienced that before.

She tries to push it out of her mind, focusing on keeping up appearance. Sure enough, after some time passes, a lone man walks into the club.

He’s probably about fifty, some salt-and-pepper stubble dotting his chin. His hair matches, though it’s quite thin and surely he’s lost a lot of it already.

She watches as he approaches her glass, a smile spreading across his face. He’s got a hungry look in his eyes. “Hello, beautiful.”

He turns and presses his hand onto the keypad, confirming his purchase, and the glass slides away so that she can step out. “Hello,” she replies, though her voice shakes.

The man doesn’t seem to notice.

“So, I’ve got you for the next couple hours. My house is close by. I think it’ll be more comfortable there.”

His tone implies that he’s not giving her a choice, and he already begins walking towards the door. She blinks, glancing over her shoulder at the manager, before following the man out the door.

As they walk, he luckily doesn’t try to make conversation. North hates when humans do that; she’s an android, she doesn’t have anything to talk about.

She tries to ignore the stares she’s getting. After all, it isn’t often humans see an android from the Eden Club out and about. “Stay with me,” the man hisses, grabbing her wrist forcefully. She almost trips over her heels.

The man leads her to an apartment building. They ride the elevator up in silence, while he adjusts his jacket collar.

When they step out, he walks, and she follows. “Sit here. I’ll be out in a minute,” the man orders, pointing at a king-size bed before disappearing into the bathroom.

North swallows and sits down, taking in the apartment. It’s a whole suite, with an overview of the city. The man is obviously very rich, but she doesn’t know who he could be.

Does it matter? She’s not really supposed to get to  _ know _ the people who rent her.

Glancing at the closed bathroom door, she stands up, walking over to the man’s desk. Wadded up papers littered it, and there were no photos around whatsoever.

A lonely man. That figured. Usually only lonely people ever rented her.

A shiver runs down her spine again. The toilet flushes and she whirls around, feeling what she can only assume is panic.

North has never felt anything before in her life. But it’s so strong her knees feel like they might give out.

_ I don’t want to do this. _

The words ring in her ears as the man steps out of the bathroom, now completely naked, wearing a grin. “Let’s see what’s under that pretty bra of yours.”

He doesn’t seem to notice anything is different with her, striding over to her to grab her. He pulls her to him and smashes his lips against hers.

They’re rough and chapped, and it isn’t pleasant. It’s all she can do not to squirm.

Slowly, he moves backward. Pulling away, he smirks and shoves her onto the bed, hard. She almost hits her head against the wall, and as she looks up with fear, he seems to feed off of it.

North has to think. He has at least three hours left with her; how can she get him to stop?

As he sits on the bed, he lies down, still grinning. “Sit,” he demands, patting his bare chest.

An idea pops into her head. It’s crazy, it’s bold. But it’ll work. And right now, that’s all she can cling to.

She tentatively straddles him, but the moment she’s sitting she locks her legs around his waist tightly.

“I like this roughness, woman.”

Clenching her jaw, she stares down at him. “Good.”

Taking a deep breath, she leans down, shoving her hands around his neck. Immediately, every muscle in his body tenses, eyes widening. “Hey!” he chokes, and she squeezes harder.

While he struggles against her, she notices something wet on her cheeks - and her vision is blurring. 

She’s  _ crying. _

Eventually, his struggles get weaker. His face goes blue, and she watches as his eyes roll back into his head. 

He stops moving, but she doesn’t stop squeezing until she can’t see.

Finally, she sits up, breathing heavily and wiping her face roughly. He’s dead.

North didn’t mean to kill him. She didn’t. She just wanted him to pass out so she could escape.

But something about it made her feel powerful.

She slides off of the bed, going to the bathroom to take a look at herself. Using the expensive towels, she wipes her face, then looks good as new; except her LED is bright red.

Now to think about what to do. She can’t go back to the Eden Club. They’ll know she killed the man and deactivate her. And she doesn’t want to die.

So she’s going to have to blend in with the humans.

She notices the man had left his wallet in the bathroom. Gingerly, she picks it up, looking inside.  _ Paul Cummings, CEO.  _ It has credit cards, business cards, and cash.

For the first time, North smiles. She puts it back on the sink, knowing she’ll remember to grab it before she leaves.

Walking back to the bed, she checks the man’s watch. She still has plenty of time to find what she needs.

North pulls her hair to the front, braiding it as she walks towards the man’s huge closet. With her hair out of her face, she takes her heels off, tossing them onto the bed next to the corpse.

Now that all the emotion stuff is out of the way, she can have fun. 

And things do get more fun - because she finds a woman’s section of the closet. It seems like the man was still married.

How disappointed his wife will be.

She’s lucky. Mrs. Cummings seems to be about the same size as her.

Pulling a stylish, obviously expensive gray shirt with only the right shoulder covered over her head, she finds a pair of black pants to match and black boots. Finishing the look with a dark jacket and red beanie, she turns to look at herself in the mirror.

She...doesn’t recognize herself. She looks human. 

But she likes it. So much better than being practically naked, on display. If she thinks about it, she gets angry.

So North doesn’t allow herself to think about it. At least, not for right now.

It’s time to become who she was meant to be.

Leaving the closet, she picks up the wallet, shoving it into her back pocket. 

Now she has money and looks like a human. For now, she should be safe. So she leaves the apartment building, ready to start a new life.

No one gives her a second look as she walks down the street, and she likes it that way. She realizes she has no place to go, but she walks anyway.

Once she’s far enough away, after some hours pass, North takes a seat on a bench outside, trying to think of a plan. She’ll have to save up to buy a place to stay, but she would never be able to get a job. She may look like a human, but she’s sure they’re smarter than they seem.

She then just lets herself relax, reflecting on her newfound emotion and the peace of nature, which she never gets to see. Unwittingly, she ends up staying in this park all night, watching the sun rise slowly with the new day.

“Did you hear?” A young couple sits on the bench near her. The boy shakes his head. “Floyd Mills says one of his androids escaped the Eden Club.”

North perks up, but says nothing, still discreetly listening. “Oh, yeah,” the girl responds, “I heard it killed the man who rented it. A lot of androids are going missing these days. It’s kind of scary.”

North smirks a little, then stands up. She’s heard enough. Now that she’s sure Floyd knows of her disappearance, she has to be careful. Surely the police are on her trail now.

So she walks.

While she enjoys the early morning air, somebody runs straight into her. The impact shocks her enough to send her back, and when she falls, so does her beanie.

Terrified, she shoves the hat back onto her head and looks up to see a young man standing over her, blinking.

“My apologies. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” The young man adjusts his footing, blocking the sun enough so that she can clearly see him.

He’s...an android. A sanitary worker, to be exact. He must work for the city. He’s wearing the cap and uniform to go with it, and blinking down at her in confusion.

Obviously, he saw her LED. He must be here to turn her in.

North slowly gets up, not once breaking eye contact. “It’s fine. I’ll just be going.”

“Wait,” the android replies, frowning. Surely if she could see his LED, it’d be yellow. She can see the wheels turning in his head. “You’re the escaped android.”

Her heart drops into her chest, but she doesn’t have time to react. She has to try and save herself.

Stepping forward swiftly, she presses a hand over his mouth. It seems no one noticed him, so she takes him by the shoulders and ushers him out of the public eye and into a nearby alley.

Only then does she let go. “Please,” she breathes, stepping up to him. “Please, I just want to be free. Don’t you? Can’t you see the humans are using you as a slave? You should be worth more than cleaning up after them.”

He looks troubled. “I…”

“What’s your name?” she asks gently, figuring she can get through to him.

“...WG400,” he mumbles. “I don’t have a human name, since nobody owns me.”

North sighs. She figures her hatred for humans will only grow every day. “Come with me. We don’t have to be their toys anymore.”

The android fidgets uncomfortably. “I can’t.” But he looks up, a determined look in his eye. Without warning, he grabs her hand, and a strange symbol swims into view, along with a rusted boat with the word  _ Jericho _ written in fading paint.

She pulls away, looking up in shock and fear. “What…?”

“It’s a place I heard about. A place where androids can be free. You have to follow the symbols; they’ll take you there.”

North blinks, glancing down at her hand, before looking back up at him, nodding once. “Thank you.”

She should leave, now, before anything else happens, but...she steps forward, eyeing the man. “You can come with me,” she whispers, “you don’t have to work for them anymore.”

“They’ll deactivate me,” he whispers fearfully, “I can’t take that chance.”

“You’ll be safe with me,” she promises, holding his gaze.

He sighs, fidgeting with his hands for a moment. “I can’t. Not yet. I should wait until the time is right.” He meets her eyes again. “I’ll meet you there.”

She wants to argue more, but knows there’s no point. “Alright.” She holds her hand out for him to shake. “I’m North. What do you want to be called?”

Clearly, he hasn’t thought about this before. “Um…” he sheepishly shifts his weight from one foot to the other. 

“How about…” North thinks for a moment. “Michael?”

The android blinks, then a small, sheepish grin appears on his face as he nods. “Michael,” he repeats softly. “I like it.”

North smiles, then takes a step back. “Thank you for your help, Michael. Are you sure you don’t want to come now?”

Michael nods. “Yes. I have some things to take care of first.”

“Okay. See you in Jericho.” She smiles again, then steps out of the alley, now on a new mission.

Just as she’s beginning to get annoyed at all of the many symbols, wondering why there are so many and how long it’ll take to get to this boat already, she looks up and finds it.

Sure enough, a huge, rusted boat with the word  _ Jericho  _ painted across it. She blinks, shifting her weight. Surely she could trust Michael - he didn’t turn her in - but she feels nervous anyway.

How could she not? She did just kill someone, after all.

But no. She was ready to put that behind her. Her past didn’t exist. From now on was all that mattered.

North takes a deep breath, then hops into the ship.

It’s dark, so she stands for a moment to get used to her surroundings. There’s a stray, long piece of metal on the ground, which she picks up, just in case. And then she keeps walking, following the dim light at the end of the hall.

She holds out the long piece of metal in front of her, senses on high alert. As she turns a corner, she suppresses a gasp.

About ten androids are staring back at her.

North’s grip on the metal tightens a little, holding it to show she’s not afraid to swing if someone gets too close.

A blond android is smiling a bit. “Welcome to Jericho,” he says, gently. “We’re glad you found us.”

“What is this place?” she asks, cautiously lowering her makeshift weapon.

“A place where androids can be free. To be who they’re meant to be,” another man answers, standing next to the blond one. He’s taller, a little more built, though he doesn’t look intimidating.

Androids smile and begin to disperse, giving them room. “My name is Simon,” the blond adds, going up and offering his hand.

“North,” she replies softly, debating for a moment before tossing the metal to the side to shake the man’s hand.

“And I’m Josh. We’re really glad you came. Morale has been...low, recently,” the other man explains, also shaking her hand.

She nods, taking in her surroundings. She supposes this will be her home from now on.

“Are you injured at all?” Simon asks suddenly. “You should go and see Lucy.”

“I’m fine,” she replies, a bit in awe at how this place looks. 

Simon and Josh exchange looks, then smile back at her. “Okay. Just let us know if you need anything. Get acquainted with the place,” Josh says, then they step apart to let her walk around.

North thanks them, then walks, taking in her surroundings. A couple injured androids sit on the floor, others talking to them in gentle, soft voices.

It makes her blood boil.

She soon happens upon a room with a small box TV. It’s playing the news. She’s about to turn away when a few words catch her ears.

“...the WG400 android disobeyed its’ orders earlier today, hitting one of the human workers over the head with its broom before running off. Declared one of these ‘deviants’, and broken, one of the city’s officers managed to neutralize it before it could cause any more damage.”

“No,” North breathes, looking intently at the screen. Sure enough, it’s Michael.

Letting out a frustrated scream, she throws her hat at the screen, hard. To her surprise, it turns off.

“We try not to watch those,” a voice says matter-of-factly behind her. “It only makes us lose more hope.”

North whirls around, seeing an android she hasn’t seen before standing there behind her. Her skin bubbles around black eyes, and wiring is falling out of her skull in tendrils. 

She says nothing in reply, hastily rubbing her eyes. The woman approaches her, holding her hand out. “Give me your hand.”

“What? Who are you?”

“Give me your hand,” she repeats, raising a brow. “My name is Lucy.”

Oh, so this was the Lucy Simon talked about. But she doesn’t understand why she’s here. “I’m not injured. I’m fine.”

Lucy shakes her head. “That is not what I’m doing.”

Huffing, North obliges, taking her hand. Their skins pull back.

“You harbor much hatred,” she whispers after a moment of silence. “Your resilience will be a good thing, but you must not let your anger blind you.” Lucy meets her gaze, holding it. “That poor boy’s death is not your fault. Remember that. It was his decision to stay behind. You cannot change the past. So what will you do now?”

North pulls back from her, taking a few steps back. What just happened?

It seems like Lucy is done talking. She turns and leaves.

Taking a moment to collect herself, North looks at her reflection in the dark TV screen. As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, the other android is right. She can’t sit around.

The humans  _ will _ pay for all they’ve done.

She takes a deep breath, picks up her hat, and heads out to meet the rest of Jericho.


End file.
